paper on retail management

1. Study of Service Quality
Measures in Technologic
Products in Retail Stores
Rohit Premakar
12/PMB/004

2. A study to service quality measures in technological
products in retail stores in India. The study is based on
primary data after going through I draw a conclusion.
When I started this paper I was focusing only on
technological products.as kept searching for more
contents I found out that that the differentiation of
consumer durables and technological products could
have been done easily but the differentiation keeps
becoming less. The reason I would lies in the word
“SMART”. gone are days when people used to buy stuffs
based on colour and few aspects of it.people nowadays
want smart TV’s, smart fridges ,smart ac and even a
smart toaster. But I will focus my paper mainly on
technologically advanced projects and will also include
small amount of less technological products.
Global researchers have been releasing many forecasts
about Indian consumer market segments. For instance,
an industry body predicts that the size of India’s retail
industry would grow by more than 100 per cent to
become US$ 1.3 trillion by 2020 from the current size
for US$ 500 billion. Similarly, the Indian direct selling
industry is anticipated to touch Rs 7,120 crore (US$ 1.29
billion) by the end of 2012-13, according to a study by
Ernst and Young.
There is a noticeable shift in the consumer’s preference
in favor of higher end, technologically superior branded
products, the demand being fueled by increasing
consumer awareness and preference for new models.
Post liberalization there has been inundation of goods
transcending the borders and the customer has a wider
choice; breaking the shackles of the consumers
regarding
limitations of choices.
India also has 500 million Indians under the age of 25.
Young Indians are driving purchases in mobile
phones, Tablets, accessories, computers and laptops.
Young Indians have access to more money than
before and with this has come independence,
aspirations and a demand for products.
The retail industry for these products has grown at an
astonishing rate of 28% P.A. several new players have
come in this sectors and have come up with their own
business models. All the major companies like TATA
group, Reliance, Bharti, Aditya Birla group, and future
group are present in this market. The products which
are available are almost same but what differentiates
them are the service they provide.it is this services due
to which organized retail for electronics has prospered
and combated the small retailers. But the challenges are
never ending with the boom in e-commerce many
players like flipkart , snapdeal and Amazon have shown
tremendous growth .
It difficult to measure the level of service and quality of
service provided by each player, in order to distinguish
itself from others. i shall try to identify those measuring
criteria which people tend to associate with and
ultimately leads to buying decision.
OBJECTIVE:
Executive Summary

3. 1. The availability of the product and the variants
available.
2. Product pricing: The consumer electronics
industry is highly price sensitive, making price
the determining factor in increasing volumes, at
least for lower range consumers.
3. Availability of financing schemes: Availability of
credit and the structure of the loan determine
the affordability of the product.
4. Innovative advertising and brand promotion:
Sales promotion measures such as discounts,
free gifts and exchange offers help a company
in distinguishing itself from others.
5. The level of sales representatives. Their
knowledge base, ability to answer the
questions, information level, and attitude.
1. The stores which I decided to visit for this paper
were:-
CROMA STORE
Adiya City Centre Mall, Plot No-C/Gh-3,
Basement & Ist Floor, Vaibhav
Khand, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad – 201001
Reliance Digital
2nd Floor, Shipra Mall, On NH-24, Indirapuram,
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh - 201014, India
Vijay Sales
Dr Sushila Naiyar Marg, Orange County, Ahinsa
Khand-1, IndirapuramGhaziabad, UP 201014
Flipkart
www.flipkart.com
2. To have uniformity I selected 4 persons .asked them
to visit these stores with me.
3. The products which were considered were mobile
phones, tablets, laptops and cameras.
4. A questionnaire was prepared which had to be filled
out after leaving the store.
After visiting each stores there was no uniformity in the
service. We will compare each store for its plus and
minuses. These were factors which gerenated a positive
or negative vibe.
CROMA STORE
Pros
1. The store was well organized and finding
products was not a problem at all.
2. Pricing was not lowest but was the closest to
the lowest ones.
3. Staff was very well trained in few departments
like mobile phones and laptops other products
they had to look up.
4. Wide range.
5. Attractive schemes.
Cons
1. Product variations were limited.
2. Cramped in few sections.
3. Less availability of accessories.
4. Certain products were higly priced.
Key Drivers
Literature Review
Findings

4. Reliance Digital STORE
Pros
1. Better visibility and display of objects.
2. More products on displays.
3. Separate specialized counters for several
companies like Samsung and Sony.
4. Spacious.
Cons
1. Product variations were limited.
2. Schemes were meaning less and did not adhere
with the product.
3. Less availability of accessories.
4. Products were costliest in this store.
5. Staff was inefficient and would call other
persons to give details of the products.
Vijay sales
Pros
1. Highly concentrated on mobile phones and
laptops.
2. Wide range of laptops.
3. Got to see products which were not from front
line companies i.e karbon ,lava ,micromax.
4. Attractive pricing and offers on accessories.
Cons
1. Concentrated more on products from 2nd
tier
companies.
2. Staff would provide with only basic details.
3. Less availability of accessories.
4. Display was good but prices was missing
Flipkart
Pros
1. Wide range of products.
2. Lowest prices.
3. It was easy to compare.
4. Attractive pricing and offers on accessories.
5. Wide customization options.
6. Highly detailed information.
Cons
1. Customers cannot fell the product.
2. Shipping takes long and the product reaches
after 2-3 days minimum.
3. They are not authorized sellers of many
companies.
4. The human element is missing. Everybody felt
that the staff was helping in decision making
process.
5. Explanation of vague technological terms was
not there. Which staff members were able to
help with in certain extend.
6. One thing which was very important was many
products like laptops and tablets needs to be
configured first before use physical stores
would do it for free but it was not done by
flipkart.
7. The physical stores would check the product
before handing over to the customer. That was
not present.

5. This segment of electronic goods needs to most
looked after, because the technological changes
are happing rapidly. These products are drawing
more and more customers. The life span of this
products is very less compared to other
consumer durables.so maintain a quality of
service it is necessary keep changing and
updating inventory time to time. And even
educating employees is also an important
aspects.
The factors which have been identified by this
study which can be the measures of service
quality are:
 Easy to locate the product in the store
 Detailed information of the
product(through representatives)
 Better display of the products
 Effective pricing
 Availability of the product.
Conclusion

6. Research questionnaire
Measurement the retail service quality
Dear respondent, could you please evaluate the service
quality of the store on the different attributes. All the
questions can be possible answered on the scale from 1
to 5 where 1 means ‘strongly disagree’ and 5 – ‘strongly
agree’. (The option 4---“agree” is equal to your
expectation, 3 is indifferent)
1. How do you rate the physical look of the store on the
following attributes?
1.1 you could easily find the product you were
looking for.
1 2 3 4 5
1.2 Store displays of the products are visually
appealing.
1 2 3 4 5
2. How do you rate the service convenience of the store
on the following attributes?
2.1 The store layout at this store makes it easy for
customers to find what they need
1 2 3 4 5
2.2 The store layout at this store makes it easy for
customers to move around in the store
1 2 3 4 5
3. How do you rate the reliability of the store on the
following attributes?
3.1 This store has products available when to the
customers
1 2 3 4 5
3.2 This store has accessories available
1 2 3 4 5
3.3 This store has products available with different
variations(i.e colour etc)when to the customers
1 2 3 4 5
4. How do you rate the personal interaction in the store
on the following attributes?
4.1 Employees in the store have the knowledge to
answer customers’ questions
1 2 3 4 5
4.2 The behavior of employees in this store instills
confidence in customers
1 2 3 4 5
5. Did you enjoy shopping here?
1 2 3 4 5
6. how were the pricing of the products?
1 2 3 4 5
7. would you shop again here?
1 2 3 4 5
8. sugesstions.
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